In recent decades, the growth of electronic commerce has enabled shoppers to buy an increasing number of products and services over the Internet and other networks. Books, videos, songs, clothing, and furniture can all be purchased on electronic commerce websites. The convenience and savings associated with electronic commerce make it likely that adoption of electronic commerce as a replacement for, or supplement to, shopping at physical locations will continue.
In some ways, however, electronic commerce lags behind traditional, physical location-based commerce. Two individuals who physically visit a store together can each see what products the other is viewing and can make recommendations. In contrast, electronic commerce lacks this collaborative, social experience. The electronic commerce shopper sits alone at his or her computer without benefit of a friend who is shopping at the same time and is viewing additional items that may be of interest to the shopper. Many electronic commerce sites try to be that friend, providing recommendations to the shopper based on products that the shopper has viewed. But such recommendations are still limited to products or services previously viewed by the shopper; they typically do not include and are not based on products or services browsed by friends contemporaneously shopping with the shopper.